Is your information safe?

Month: February 2014

Now that Facebook has purchased WhatsApp everybody is wondering if WhatsApp is safe for texting.

Well, the fact is, WhatsApp has never really been a secure texting app and now that Facebook is the owner your texts will certainly be read and used by Facebook, the NSA and who knows who else.

Facebook recently made some changes to it’s Android mobile app requesting access to all your text messages. If you want to use their app you have to accept the permission update. I’m sure the same will be true for WhatsApp soon.

One of my favorite shows and the best source for Security & Privacy related issues on the internet is the Security Now show with Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte. There are lots of great shows on Twit so definitely check it out.

They get a little technical sometimes, but it’s a great show to listen to even if you don’t understand it all.

I try to distill the great information they give out there and make it more understandable for the non techie person.

Keep your browsing habits safe from prying eyes with the Do Not Track Me browsing extension for Goolge Chrome.

Many big companies are paying good money to know what your looking at and buying online. Advertisers never had it so good before. No they can purchase data about you and your online activity and target you with very specific ads.

Maybe one day you’re looking a running shoes online and there’s a company that caters to runners, they could buy that information and target you with more products you may like. On the one hand it’s kind of nice to see only what you’re interested in, but say you go online and look up the weird rash you have that just came out of no where. You could be targeted with a whole new set of ads you don’t want to see flashing at you every time you get online.

If you install the Do Not Track me Chrome Extension it will keep your browsing habits private to you.

In January 2012 we defeated the SOPA and PIPA censorship legislation with the largest Internet protest in history. Today we face another critical threat, one that again undermines the Internet and the notion that any of us live in a genuinely free society: mass surveillance.

In celebration of the win against SOPA and PIPA two years ago, and in memory of one of its leaders, Aaron Swartz, we are planning a day of protest against mass surveillance, to take place this February 11th.

Together we will push back against powers that seek to observe, collect, and analyze our every digital action. Together, we will make it clear that such behavior is not compatible with democratic governance. Together, if we persist, we will win this fight.